In the Papua New Guinea episode of Gardiens de la forêt (Guardians of the Forest), a five-part Arte series on the world’s last great primary forests, Huli chief Mundiya Kepanga travels across his country in search of solutions to deforestation, which he then brings back to his community. Marc Dozier directed the episode for Lato Sensu Productions and Arte, filmed over more than 45 days. Papua New Guinea Fixer organised the whole shoot.
By Marc Dozier · Updated November 2026
The film moves through very different parts of the country. In Port Moresby, the crew filmed at Parliament and in Varirata National Park. In the Highlands, it filmed around Tari in Hela Province, coffee in Enga Province, and, at the Goroka Show, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) team handing out bilas kits to traditional dancers: mothball kits that protect their fragile feather headdresses from insects. In Madang, it filmed the Binatang Research Center, and on the Sepik River, the sequence on vanilla.
Between Madang, Enga and Tari, the crew travelled by road, and the journey itself became material for the film: many of the travel sequences were shot along the way.
Director and fixer
Marc Dozier was both the director and the fixer of the film, working with Pascal Fayolle (camera and drone) and François Rousset (camera). The shoot required a long preparation: many provinces and locations mean many journeys and high costs, so the itinerary was planned to keep travel and budget under control.
Papua New Guinea Fixer handled all the logistics: transport by road and air, domestic flights and excess baggage, accommodation, food and security.
Filming after the elections
The shoot took place just after the 2022 general elections, an unstable period in Papua New Guinea. It brought many difficulties, and the schedule had to be adapted to the situation on the ground as the crew moved from one province to the next.
From the camera operator
On location, when bad weather sets in and puts the film at risk, he responds very quickly to our needs and suggests new options. Even in places completely cut off from the world, he was able to set up a plan B very quickly without jeopardising the whole shoot […].
Whenever a problem comes up, he always has a logistical solution, and the fact that he speaks Tok Pisin fluently is essential in the country. His knowledge of photography is also a real asset when planning each shooting day around the light and dealing with humidity in some challenging environments.
Pascal FayolleCamera operator & drone pilot · Full review on Google →
What producers can take from it
- Plan the route before the locations. Each extra province adds flights, excess baggage and days on the road. Grouping locations along one route keeps the budget under control.
- Use the road. Driving from Madang to the Highlands takes time, but it gives the film travel sequences that a flight cannot.
- Check the political calendar. The weeks around national elections can be unstable. Allow extra time and keep alternatives ready.
The film
| Original title | Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, le temps des solutions |
| Series | Gardiens de la forêt (5 episodes) |
| Broadcaster | Arte (2023) |
| Length | 53 min |
| Watch | arte.tv, available until 20 May 2027 |
| Director | Marc Dozier |
| With | Mundiya Kepanga |
| Crew | Pascal Fayolle (camera & drone), François Rousset (camera) |
| Production | Lato Sensu Productions |
| Filmed | 2022, more than 45 days |
| Locations | Port Moresby · Central · Hela · Enga · Eastern Highlands · Madang · East Sepik |
| Our role | Direction · full organisation: transport, domestic flights, excess baggage, accommodation, food, security |
Filming in several provinces?
We plan the route, the flights and the road journeys to fit your budget.